Bernard Bonnin is located at the southern tip of Meursault and is currently run by Nicolas Bernard, the seventh generation of the family, and his wife Veronique. The field is 7ha, and only Chardonnay is planted there. Most of the fields are located in Meursault, and the village fields include Clos du Cromans, Tillet and Limosin, and the first-class fields are Genevrières and Charme, as well as the first-class fields of Puligny (Garenne and Foratières). These wonderful vineyards were inherited in 1998 from the family of Nicola's wife Veronique, but in fact, her grandfather was the head of Domaine Michelot at the time, and Veronique's mother was one of his three daughters. Ta. Initially, all three worked for their grandfather, but in 1998 they decided to divide the domaine into three parts, and at that time they acquired the fields from Veronique's mother, and the history of Bernard Bonin began.
Our philosophy in winemaking is ``as natural as possible.'' Cultivation is biodynamic without certification, using the celestial calendar, and human intervention is avoided as much as possible. He plows into the soil frequently because ``the soil is living and needs to breathe,'' and he never neglects to do so, even during the winter. When it comes to harvesting, Nicolas is always one of the first in Meursault to start the harvest, to ensure freshness: ``Côte de Beaune whites have a richness and minerality; "You need acid to combine the two elegantly," says Bernard. This acid must be a natural acid derived from grapes, and without this acid the wine will be unbalanced, so we pay special attention to the timing of the harvest. Even in the cellar, we stick to natural methods, fermenting with natural yeast, and refraining from using SO2 as much as possible. Aged for approximately 15 months in barrels, then several months in stainless steel. Only about 10% new barrels are used. Bonin continues to use barrels for each cuvée without changing them; for example, the barrels used for Genevrière are used only for Genevrière the following year and the year after that. This reflects their extraordinary commitment to using the same barrels from each vineyard year after year to maintain consistency, as each barrel of wine reacts slightly differently. After that, the wine is drained just before bottling according to the lunar calendar, and no manual filtering or fining is done to allow for natural fining and stabilization.
Nicolas believes that Meursault's buttery character is due more to modern winemaking techniques than to the original terroir, and their wines are more about minerality and energy than power and richness. Overflowing. This is a work that can truly be called a work of craftsmanship, bringing to the fore the unique characteristics of Meursault's original terroir. Due to the low production volume and high rarity of their wines, they rarely appear in the media, and even if you search for review magazines or websites, you won't find much information about them. Bonin was only known among a few connoisseurs, but as the quality has improved, discerning sommeliers and Burgundy enthusiasts are now paying close attention to this rising star. It's a shame that production is limited and only a small amount makes it into Japan, but this is a treasure of Meursault that true Burgundy lovers should definitely get their hands on.
